What is work stress?
Work stress is a phenomenon of recent appearance but increasingly common among the population. In other words, it is the physical and mental reaction to a challenge or change that affects our work, and that takes place in the environment or position where we carry out the functions that correspond to us and where we develop our professional career.
People experience job stress when they feel there is an imbalance between what is required of them at work and the resources they have to meet those demands.
Who is affected?
According to the European Survey on Occupational Health and Safety, carried out with the support of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EUOSHA), half of European workers (51%) perceive stress as something habitual in their environment of work.
What symptoms can it produce?
Faced with this situation of imbalance, the process of activating the body typical of stress occurs, which, as we have seen in other sections, becomes a problem when time is prolonged. In this case, negative feelings and emotions end up overcoming and dominating the positive ones and can trigger physiological signs and behavioral changes such as these:
Emotional: anxiety, aggression, apathy, boredom, depression, fatigue, guilt, embarrassment, irritability, short temper, sadness, low self-esteem, tension, nervousness, and loneliness.
In thinking: inability to make decisions, to concentrate, frequent forgetfulness, hypersensitivity to criticism, mental blocks...
Behavioral: predisposition to accidents, drug use, emotional outbursts, excessive eating, drinking, or smoking, poor appetite, excitability, impulsive behavior, speech disturbances, nervous laughter, inability to rest, and tremors.
At work: absenteeism, poor labor relations, high job turnover rates, poor organizational climate, job antagonism, dissatisfaction with job performance, and poor productivity.
In short, this type of stress directly affects the quality of life of those who suffer from it, often becoming a reason for sick leave. And it is that, currently, the labor sphere affects all the other plots of the person: the psychological, relational, personal, economic and even in the physical state.
What causes work stress?
Stroke is distinguished by six signs of stroke This increase in work stress in our society may be due to the changes that have occurred in the types and rhythms of work in recent years. Specifically, the SEAS and the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality cite as stressors in the workplace:
Excess or lack of work.
- Insufficient work deadlines to complete projects satisfactorily, both for others and for ourselves.
- Lack of a clear job description or chain of command.
- Lack of recognition or reward after having performed well at work.
- Not having the opportunity to express complaints.
- Have multiple responsibilities, but not the authority or ability to make decisions.
- Being surrounded by superiors, peers, or subordinates who are uncooperative and unsupportive.
- Having no control over the outcome of the work or little satisfaction with the finished product.
- Little job stability or insecurity about maintaining the position.
- Being exposed to prejudice based on age, gender, race, ethnic origin or religion.
- Being exposed to violence, threats or intimidation.
- Work in physically unpleasant or dangerous conditions.
- Not having the opportunity to display personal talent or abilities.
- That small mistakes or distractions can have serious or even disastrous consequences.
You can see here a summary of the most important general data, but we also detail below the conclusions and graphs related to work stress and techno-stress, since the specific job responsibilities and work environment have a great impact on the level of stress of each person.
Work overload or the boss, causes of work stress
The research reveals that six out of ten workers (60.3%) -both employed and self-employed- feel stressed due to work overload, 27.2%, due to their relationship with their bosses or colleagues, and one of every four (25.1%), due to the fear of not living up to expectations. The tension caused by customer service (16.5%) is the fourth cause of work stress.
The study has made it possible to detect significant differences between employed and self-employed workers in almost all the factors studied. In the first place, although both coincide in designating work overload as the first cause of stress, this factor is more relevant for employed workers. Likewise, although the two types of worker indicate the fear of not living up to expectations as the second cause of stress, this fear is greater in the self-employed. Finally, while employed workers indicate the relationship with their superiors as the third source of stress, the self-employed feel more stressed due to the absence of business.
Work stress as a cause of illness
Work stress can seriously affect people who suffer from it. According to the study, half (49.5%) of Spaniards who suffer from stress due to their relationship with their superiors develop some type of physical illness or mental or emotional problems. In addition, four out of ten Spaniards (41.3%) who suffer from stress due to fear of not living up to expectations at work suffer from emotional disorders such as anxiety or depression.
Three out of ten people, stressed by ICT
New technologies such as mobile phones, tablets, email and social networks are also emerging as a new source of stress, to the point that almost three out of ten Spaniards (28.3%) declare that they increase their stress . In the case of young people (between 18 and 34 years old), this percentage rises to 30.9%.
The main reason why respondents state that new technologies increase their level of stress is the impossibility of "disconnecting" (68.2%) and, in fact, almost half of the respondents who work and have felt stressed at some point time in the last year received emails or calls outside working hours (47.4%). The other reasons why new technologies increase their stress level are the need for an immediate response that they imply (54.6%) and the addiction or dependency that they generate (33.0%). It should be noted that the latter is higher in women (36.3%, compared to 26.9% of men) and in young people.
You can download the Press Dossier with all the study data here.
Or see a summary of the main data of the Study here.
Telecommuting
What health risks can remote work entail?
Although teleworking offers numerous advantages, the lack of a single space dedicated to work activity and of certain ergonomic and environmental conditions generates health risks of a very diverse nature. For example, musculoskeletal disorders, such as muscle and joint pain in areas of the body such as the neck, cervical, back, wrists and legs; the sedentary lifestyle derived from spending many hours in front of the computer can in turn bring other consequences for health and further aggravate these problems; eyestrain; problems related to the way you organize yourself that can lead to stress and/or psychological problems such as anxiety; problems derived from ignorance of the technology itself or technical difficulties in carrying out teleworking that can lead to suffering from what we know as techno-stress.
For this reason, if you telecommute, it is worth reviewing your 'home office' and checking that both the work elements and the environmental conditions of the room where you carry out your work activity are appropriate.